Deputies question if two Midlands disappearances are linked

Deputies in Clarendon and Orangeburg counties are looking for a possible link between a missing high school student and her brother-in-law who vanished a day earlier.

Sanjeev Verma (Courtesy: Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office)

The Clarendon County Sheriff’s Office says 16-year-old Nami Patel of Santee was reported missing from Clarendon Hall school in Summerton Tuesday. Deputies say Patel was last seen when she was dropped off at school around 8:15 a.m. Investigators believe she may have left the grounds shortly after that. Patel’s mother reported her missing when she tried to her daughter up from the school around 4:00 p.m.

Meanwhile, 26-year-old Sanjeev Verma of Orangeburg was reported missing by his wife just after 10 p.m. Monday night. Verma’s wife told Orangeburg County that deputies she last spoke to him around 6:45 p.m., when Verma told her he was heading to speak with a local magistrate. Orangeburg County Sheriff Leroy Ravenell said Tuesday that Verma never made contact with that magistrate. His car, a gray 2007 Nissan Sentra, was found Tuesday morning on Cleveland Street in Elloree.

Nami Patel (Courtesy: Clarendon County Sheriff’s Office)

“At this point, we can not rule out anything,” Ravenell said in a statement at the time, “Sanjeev is a husband and father. We want to be able to locate him and ease the minds of his family members that he is safe.” Verma is the owner of the Corner Store in Elloree.

He is 5’4″ and weighs about 170 pounds. He was last seen wearing a brown and white jacket, a white and black jacket, light blue jeans, and white sneakers. Patel is 5’3″ and weighs 100 pounds. She was last seen wearing a yellow V-neck shirt with white dots, blue jeans, white Nike shoes, and a black jacket. She was also carrying a white Coach bag.

So far, deputies say they do not even know if Patel and Verma are together.

Anyone with information about the disappearance of Verma or Patel is asked to contact CrimeStoppers at 888-CRIME-SC.